Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA Raises Holdings in Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ)

Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources Limited (NYSE:CNQ - Free Report) TSE: CNQ by 8.8% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 4,757,518 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock after purchasing an additional 385,009 shares during the quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA owned 0.23% of Canadian Natural Resources worth $146,532,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in CNQ. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. now owns 5,165 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $159,000 after buying an additional 480 shares during the last quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Orion Portfolio Solutions LLC now owns 81,954 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $2,530,000 after buying an additional 497 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Canadian Natural Resources by 8.0% during the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 7,065 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 525 shares in the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC raised its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 1.0% in the fourth quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 55,045 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $1,699,000 after purchasing an additional 528 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Peak Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Canadian Natural Resources by 0.7% in the first quarter. Peak Financial Advisors LLC now owns 77,253 shares of the oil and gas producer's stock valued at $2,379,000 after purchasing an additional 557 shares in the last quarter. 74.03% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CNQ has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. National Bankshares reiterated a "sector perform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial raised Canadian Natural Resources from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 9th. Scotiabank reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Friday, July 11th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $63.00 price objective on shares of Canadian Natural Resources in a research note on Thursday, March 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $63.00.

Canadian Natural Resources Stock Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE CNQ traded down $0.21 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $30.81. 4,938,042 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 5,758,677. The company has a market cap of $64.45 billion, a PE ratio of 12.08 and a beta of 1.03. Canadian Natural Resources Limited has a one year low of $24.65 and a one year high of $37.91. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $31.71 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.40, a quick ratio of 0.53 and a current ratio of 0.84.

Canadian Natural Resources (NYSE:CNQ - Get Free Report) TSE: CNQ last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 8th. The oil and gas producer reported $0.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.08. Canadian Natural Resources had a return on equity of 20.90% and a net margin of 16.92%. The business had revenue of $6.96 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $10.14 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.37 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Canadian Natural Resources Limited will post 2.45 EPS for the current year.

Canadian Natural Resources Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, July 3rd. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 13th were paid a $0.4227 dividend. This represents a $1.69 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 5.49%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 13th. This is an increase from Canadian Natural Resources's previous quarterly dividend of $0.41. Canadian Natural Resources's dividend payout ratio is 67.06%.

About Canadian Natural Resources

Canadian Natural Resources Limited acquires, explores for, develops, produces, markets, and sells crude oil, natural gas, and natural gas liquids (NGLs). The company offers light and medium crude oil, primary heavy crude oil, Pelican Lake heavy crude oil, bitumen (thermal oil), and synthetic crude oil (SCO).